Canada draws Honduras in U-17 soccer championship

TIJUANA, Mexico — The Canadian men’s under-17 soccer team scored drew 1-1 against Honduras on Tuesday at the CONCACAF U-17 soccer championship.

The game, played in withering 30C heat, saw Canada — with Red Deer’s Caolan Lavery on the roster ­— go ahead 1-0 at the 40-minute mark on a penalty kick by Russell Teibert of Niagara Falls, Ont. The member of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ youth program fired into the low corner to put the Canadians ahead.

Canadian coach Sean Fleming after the game that despite rigorous pre-tournament training his team suffered in the awful heat during the game, “but so did the Hondurans.

“Both teams were strongly affected by it,” he added.

Heat will be an issue Canada will continue to face as it readies for a game Thursday with the U.S. and again Saturday against Cuba.

Canada held the one-goal lead for 20 minutes before Honduras scored on corner kick.

“There was as defensive lapse but credit to the Honduran player because he got a very good look and managed to score,” said Fleming

The tournament involves teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean. The two top teams in each pool will book their ticket to the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which runs Oct. 24 to Nov. 15 in Nigeria.

Canada hasn’t qualified for the world under-17 championship since 1995 when it lost all three games and existed after the first round. Canada has advanced to the finals three other times.